I went to Cherry Mobile's media and blogger event at the Diamond Hotel in Manila yesterday morning thinking that the Dual Core Php 7999 Cherry Mobile Omega HD was the sole smartphone that they'd launch.

However, at around 1:30 PM or 30 minutes before CM concluded the event, Mr. Miguel Bonifacio - Cherry Mobile's Brand Officer for Smartphones - shocked everyone in the venue by announcing that the real reason behind the gathering is the formal unveiling of a whole other landmark device, the company's first ever quad core Android smartphone! This amazing announcement was quickly followed by a keynote presentation from Mr. Lonson Alejandrino, CM's Product Manager for Smartphones.

Priced at only Php 6,999 or roughly the SRP of some single core Android handsets by other brands, Cherry Mobile Flame 2.0 is currently the most affordable device in the country to run on a powerful Quad Core CPU! Having a Snapdragon S4 PlayMSM8225Q chipset from Qualcomm allows this smartphone to deliver an even smoother Android 4.1 Jelly Bean experience plus rich and engaging gaming environment enough to satisfy the demands of power users. This chipset is likewise perfectly complemented by the phone's 1GB of RAM making seamless and efficient multi-tasking possible. But don't take my word for it. Here are Cherry Mobile Flame 2.0's Quadrant Standard and Antutu Benchmark Test Scores:

Apart from its unbelievably low price tag and the powerful processor, what I find particularly arresting about this release is its very elegant design identity. The slim smartphone flaunts a metallic lining running down its sides, and a glossy back case with an almost mirror-like liquid-metal finish giving the device an air understated luxury and corporate sophistication.

After the event, Mr. Marco Solomon, Cherry Mobile's Head Trainer, gave me an exclusive hands-on demo of Cherry Mobile Flame 2.0 and also explained the main-selling points of the device, what's unique about its camera, as well as Cherry Mobile's vision and goal for bringing affordable Android devices to the Philippines. I've got everything on video, check it out:

Off hand, one of the main criticisms about Cherry Mobile Flame 2.0 is that it only has a 1,600 mAh Li-Ion battery pack, which some are saying is just enough to power a quad core device for a whole day. While this supposed limitation has yet to be proven, Cherry Mobile has already decided to bundle a free power bank with the initial batch of units scheduled to hit store shelves this coming April.

To wrap this up, I just want to say that I'm thoroughly impressed with the Cherry Mobile Flame 2.0 unit that I won via raffle during the event. I mean, for just Php 6,999, you already get a Quad Core phone with 4.5-inch IPS qHD display, 5 MegaPixel camera and 1GB RAM. How can you go wrong with that?! Is the device perfect? No. Is it worth more than what you pay for it? Yes, I believe so. Agree or Disagree? Let me hear your voice, TP Friends. You know I listen to you.